Will British prime minister Boris Johnson be asked to resign over 'partygate'?
FirstpostA fine imposed by the police for breaking COVID-19 protocols makes it almost impossible for Boris Johnson to claim that no criminality was committed. It’s bad news that the prime minister could have done without After months of dodging the issue, it appears that British prime minister Boris Johnson did in fact break his own emergency laws during COVID-19 restrictions. A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices.” In a video statement issued shortly after the announcement from the police, Johnson revealed that he has already paid the fine, which relates to a gathering on his birthday on 19 June 2020 in the Cabinet Room of 10 Downing Street. "In all frankness, at that time, it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules" PM Boris Johnson says he has paid his fine and apologises, adding that he accepts "people had the right to expect better"https://t.co/IbfOhMiPYk pic.twitter.com/s3xNlnDw1x — BBC News April 12, 2022 A few weeks ago, when the police first announced it was investigating partygate, it really did look like Johnson’s future was hanging in the balance. The prime minister has never spoken in Parliament about the 19 June event specifically but has told MPs on several occasions that no rules were broken at other key moments – and often in terms that implied no rules were ever broken.